Reports of fever, body aches and other flu-like symptoms are rising in New York, marking the official opening of the flu season.

In the aftermath of the H1N1 epidemic that completely disregarded the normal flu timeline -- autumn onset and winter peak -- public health officials are hesitant to call the upcoming season "typical." But by all indicators, it is.

"We are putting 'typical' in cautious quotes because we don't know what a typical flu season is anymore," said Dr. Bryan Cherry, a veterinarian who is director of surveillance for the state's Bureau of Communicable Disease Control.

Statewide, there were 127 laboratory confirmed reports of flu identified this week by the state surveillance system, Cherry said. The number has been rising since early October. This low level of flu activity is consistent with the pre-H1N1 flu seasons.

Even better, this year's flu vaccine appears to protect against the strains that are making people sick.

The three flu strains in the vaccine are an A/H3N2 strain, a B strain and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain. Tests on early flu cases show a reasonably good alignment.

Hand-washing and covering your cough slow the spread of both the flu and respiratory infections, he said.

The hospital staff is discouraging the use of antibiotics.

The 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic turned the flu season on its head. Seasonal flu usually emerges in September and October and peaks in February or March, according to health officials. But in 2009, H1N1 surfaced in May and was declared a pandemic by June.

In New York, the number of H1N1 hospitalizations peaked in November 2009.

"We don't know what typical is in terms of the flu," said Dr. Debra Blog, director of the state Bureau of Immunization, "but this year is shaping up to be a little less complicated."